Vigilance is Vital to Hanging on to Retransmission

[Commentary] While the Federal Communications Commission’s desire to get back spectrum currently used by television stations is grabbing a lot of attention, there’s another issue that shouldn't fall under the industry’s radar. The attempt by cable and satellite operators to get the FCC to change the retransmission consent rules to decrease the broadcasters’ leverage. This second revenue stream is vital and is growing more important each year. This is a dangerous proceeding. If broadcasters don't pay enough attention, all their spread sheets showing steadily rising retrans revenue over the next decade could suddenly become moot.